El grouper is a proterogynous hermaphrodite species, which reaches sexual maturity at the age of five and becomes a male from the age of ten, although some females can remain as such for many more years, until they reach a considerable size.
For ten years the existence of recruits has been verified in more northern areas, which shows that the reproduction has taken place further north than previously thought. Many studies have shown that eThe grouper breeds in the protected area of the Medes Islands.
The phenomenon of breeding occurs in July and continues through August, coinciding with the dates around the full moon. Although some patterns related to reproduction have been observed, the act of the emission of genital products has not been verified, but individualized monitoring of ovate females, recognizable by the spots that surround the eyes, which never coincide in two individuals, have shown that these reappeared empty of eggs after a few days, irrefutable proof that spawning had occurred. The eggs, as in all other species of serranidae, consist of pelagic.
The grouper is about a robust and solid looking fish. The head, eyes and mouth are large. The lower jaw exceeds the upper one. The maxilla has some scales and supermaxilla, a characteristic that it shares with all its congeners and that differentiates them from the genus Serranus.
It is basically a littoral fish, rocky bottom lover formed by large blocks between which it finds shelter according to its measurements. The depth at which it is found varies between 5 and 400 meters, but the bathymetric distribution is a function of the degree of fishing pressure to which it is subjected.
The mere feeds on cephalopods, for whom he feels a special predilection, although he does not disdain crustaceans or other fish.